Missing
by KaikenCollison
Summary: Rose is slowly dying inside. Dimitri's Strigoi. Lissa's worried. And a sense of stability is missing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey. My first fanfic so please take that to heart. This was one of the ideas I had for Rose while in denial that Dimitri was Strigoi. They other ideas weren't so nice. Whatever. Please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Richelle Mead. I, sadly, don't own any of the wonderful character.**

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I had set out to kill the man I love more than a month ago. Once I had finally reached Missoula via hitch-hiking, I had gotten enough money from Adrian's bank account to go to Siberia to track him down. After a couple weeks of searching I gave up on Russia. Even after being so sure I was right about Russia, I'd decided that whatever small part of Dimitri that was still fighting the Strigoi wouldn't want his family to see him turned, or, as the Strigoi called it, awakened.

From there I traveled to Portland, the first place he met me, as I had blamed myself for his predicament. But I gave up on Oregon, too. There was only one place left for me to look with any idea where he could be, Spokane. Spokane; the stuff of my nightmares. I hated that city with a deep, murderous passion. I mean, I'd gotten over Mason, but the memory of me killing things, dreadful. They were trying to kill me, but, I could have ran, Mason would be alive, and I would be a normal girl, or as normal as you can get a shadow-kissed, half vampire, smartass, 18-year-old girl.

It killed me to think about the Spokane incident, but I needed to come to terms with it as I was on a plane there already. I felt the shapes fighting for me to see them, the ghosts appearing, but I ignored it. It was harder on a plane, it always was, but I had gained some control over my link to the spirit world and I could somewhat block them out. Enough, at least, to fall asleep.

Once I fell asleep, I started to dream that I was in my old dorm room at St. Vlad's. But as I started to get settled into my bed I looked at my attire. I was wearing my _chotki _on my left wrist, seeing the Dragomir symbol made my heart hurt a little. As an anklet I was wearing a simple silver chain with my _nazar, _my personal ward against evil, as a pendant. I wore the tight, black dress that I wore the night of Victor Dashkov's lust charm. That night made my heart hurt even more than the Dragomir symbol had, which was completely taboo, because I should care, and be more protective of Lissa. But now, well, I just couldn't. Dimitri, gorgeous, wonderful, Dimitri, was just too big a part of my life.

But I hated these dreams. Adrian forced them upon me when he wanted to talk to me. But after the Strigoi attack on the school they had ceased for a while. Because Adrian drank so much after the attack and was perpetually blocked from spirit, or just because he didn't want to see me, I didn't know. I had a hunch he wasn't here just to have a casual talk. It was probably some scheme to get me home or a message from Lissa. I didn't care. I didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Adrian?" I called out tentatively; ready to tell him to let me back into the black oblivion of sleep.

But I shock when not Adrian, but Lissa, walked into the room. "Lissa? Is it really you?" I was far to shocked to say much more. I had been locking out Lissa's feeling for long enough that I didn't realize she had learned to perform Adrian's obnoxious trick. Of course it might not be so bad if his sexual harassment wasn't part of it.

"Yep. It really is me. Didn't you feel it when I finally got walking in dreams down? I was ecstatic. You should have felt it right away." She seemed trouble by my shock and not so obvious anger at being forced to talk to people. I hadn't really talked to someone with meaning since Dimitri was taken. And I didn't want to talk now.

"Well, maybe I didn't want to feel you." I gave her my best look of contempt I could manage. "What do you want? I really have to get up soon." I really did have to get up soon. The plane was sure to land soon. And I felt bad being mean to her so I had to get out soon.

"What's your problem?" Anger flitted across her beautiful features. "Been away from people for so long that you forgot the simplest manners?" She tried to project total disdain but I knew her well enough I could see the longing in her eyes.

"No, but I really don't want to talk about anything."

"Where are you?" She asked, trying to catch my eyes. Trying to use compulsion I realized.

I had to pretend to try to resist but yield before she turned her full power on me. "You don't need to know." I sounded anger, but with an edge of uncertainties.

"Please?" Her wonderful eyes board into my dark ones.

Telling her where I was starting to seem like a completely wonderful idea, but I had to resist, "I'm on my way to Siberia to find Dimitri." His name sent a horrible longing through me.

"Adrian said you already went there." She had seen right through my lie.

"And how does the wonderful Adrian know I'm not lying to him?" It was so low of me to lie like this but I had to keep them away. The new, horrible Dimitri had to stay away from my friends.

I could see her uncertainty falter under my impressive lying abilities that only Dimitri could see through well enough to call me on them. "But... don't you care about us… why won't you come home? We all really miss you, even Christian." I smiled at that thought. Christian missing me. The only one he would miss is Lissa.

"As if. He doesn't care. He only says that because he sees you in pain so it hurts him. It has nothing to do with me." But somehow these words didn't ring true. I didn't know why.

"He does! He wants his impulsive, cocky trial guardian back! He's actually been killed a few times now because the other novices are incompetent." She was starting to plead; I had to get out of there. Or I would really cave in and tell her where I was headed.

"Whatever." I turned towards the door and yanked it open and Lissa yelled for me not to. Apparently Lissa hadn't created much more for me to dream in than my dorm because outside the room was a black abyss. It almost seemed like it was calling my name and was promising numbness from the pain I was in. I leaned forward welcoming it. But small hands grabbed my arms and yanked me back into the room.

Lissa and I fell onto the floor together. "Don't go out there. If you had asked me I would have ended it. You probably have to track down Dimitri." She injected those words with all the venom she could muster and it sounded totally wrong coming out of her delicate lips.

But before I could respond I found myself waking up. The flight was short and we were landing. My head ache was lessening and I could function better. Finally, after a bunch of announcements from the flight crew, I stumbled off the plane. Ugh, Spokane was a lame as I remember it to be. Walking out of the airport I left in search of the bus station I'd come in while looking for Mason.

After questioning a few people I finally got a list of a few of the bus stations in Spokane. I hitch-hiked and finally, after trail and error, found the one I was looking for. I didn't know the way to the mall but a friendly lady at a help desk was more than happy to point me in the right direction. I thanked her and went on my way. Finally, in what seemed to be a lot longer of a time than with Christian, I reached the mall. It looked exactly the same as it had when I was last here, just, I don't know; darker? It was a little bizarre.

I entered the building and, after some searching, found the tunnels that I was looking for. I snuck down into them. They were the same dark, concrete tunnels I remembered from my last trip. When I found the letters on the wall: D, B, C, O, T, D, V, L, D, Z, S, I; I just about started crying. This list brought back a horrible stream of memories that I had held back since I had bought the plane ticket in Portland.

But then I noticed a slash by the first letter, D, Dragomir, the smallest royal family, Lissa's family. From what I gathered last time a slash meant an attack coming up. I had figured this because the only ones with crosses by them were the families that had been attacked. Maybe Lissa's attack was the attack on the school. I had no idea. But I didn't want my best friend, no matter how pissed she was at me, dead. I was in the middle of my little internal pity party when I became nauseous. Exactly the way I felt when Strigoi were around.

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**Yay!!! Cliffie. I know. Got to hate them, but still love them. I almost have the second chapter done. It just needs more, lots more, details. I'll work on it tonight.**

**Lots of thanks to Sam, for I give a huge cyber hug. Without you I wouldn't have every put this out here.**

**Hope you enjoy. Now I need some pie. Ugh.**

**Oh. And reviews would help me on my way to faster chapters!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, here's the second chapter. Sorry it took so long. I lost my USB so I could transfer the story from the laptop to...**

**Whatever, you don't care. Read and review please!!!**

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I spun around and started cursing. No way was I finding a Strigoi in these tunnels. My eyes were blurry with held-back tears. The pain of my discovery was heart-breaking and I prepared to use it against the predator. But what appeared to come around the corner was a custodian.

He was a slightly balding man with pale skin and light blue eyes. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he was a sick human, but I could see the slight ring of red around his eyes with my acute dhampir senses. He was far from your stereotypical Strigoi. He half called to me, "You lost honey?" He put on a look of fake concern, but any good novice could see through it.

"Yes!" I tried to look distressed, judging by the look that flashed on his face, an almost hungry look, he bought it. "My boyfriend told me to meet him down here for something and he never showed. I tried to get out and couldn't find my way. I'm horribly confused." I added a bit of a disgruntled expression to my face. I could almost see him licking his lips.

"Well, little girl, seems your boyfriend won't be seeing you ever again."

Then he pushed aside the cart he'd been pushing and lunged for my throat. I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding his curled hands. He landed and fell into a roll. It would have been impressive any other time to see such an old man so active, but he was my enemy. Since my last trip to Spokane I'd forgotten how impossibly fast Strigoi are. It was like fighting a ghost; a solid, deadly, killable ghost. He started growling at me and that alone gave me enough time to reach into the inside of my jacket and grab my silver stake.

It gleamed in the horrible florescent lighting of the basement. He pounced at me again, but this time startling me a little bit because I was adjusting my grip on the stake. I started to move out of the way but he caught my arm and brought me down with him. Crashing onto the floor I felt him roll on top of me to trap me. But he couldn't trap all of me and I hit him in the face and rolled on top of him. This fight reminded me of the one I had with Dimitri in the quad the day of the attack. Except today I had to kill my opponent. I pulled my stake up to his heart, positioned it, reminded myself that death is what most would want, and plunged it in.

The sharpened silver slid in easily and the janitor let out a gargled sigh, a mixture between pain and happiness. God, I can't even remember how many _molnija _marks I rightfully had earned now. I'd lost count at around twenty. The body lay on the ground bleeding and pretty obvious. Grabbing its leg I pulled it into a corner behind some trash cans. I really didn't want to do any more exploring today, so I found my way out of the tunnels.

I didn't meet people on my way out of there, but once I got out in the open I got a lot or bizarre looks. After about a minute of that I found a bathroom and slipped into it. One glance in the mirror told me everything. I had a cut and a large smear of blood on my cheek. Crap, I tried to clean it off, I really did, but as some of us novices know, blood is sticky and doesn't like to come off with work. So, finally, after a bunch of good ol' scrubbing, I got it off. I looked like crap still, and my cheek was pink, but I was much more presentable and could walk in public without attracting attention.

I walked through the rest of the mall without shoppers staring at me. Once outside I called a cab from a pay phone and went to a Comfort Inn.

Once I got to the hotel room I found it was cheap and unstylish, but, in reality, who cares? It's a hotel, and an inexpensive on at that. What I really wanted were the beds from the winter ski trip to Idaho. I settled down in the lumpy bed and snuggled in. When I dreamed that night it was of Dimitri, not Lissa. And, God, did he look great. Exactly as I remembered him, brown hair tied back, gorgeous brown eyes, wonderfully tall and muscular. He didn't even bear any signs of being Strigoi. Until that moment I hadn't realized how much I really and truly missed him, it came crashing down on me like a tsunami. It felt the same as one of Lissa's or Adrian's dreams… but… it was Dimitri… and Dimitri isn't Moroi. I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off.

"Roza." He said my name like I had been plaguing him as much as his name had been killing me. I could tell that seeing me was relief for him as much as it was for myself.

I knew I shouldn't, because it would just make me hurt more tomorrow, but I ran forward and clenched myself to his chest. His long arms wrapped around me, one of his huge hands curling in my hair. I tipped my face up towards him and he looked at me. Our lips met in a wonderful love-filled kiss. The kiss went on for a few minutes, increasing a small amount, but it didn't go any where but where it already was. Then our surroundings started to disappear. Then Dimitri started to disappear and finally, after some major procrastination, he let go of the dream. I fell into regular sleep and didn't have a chance to truly miss him until morning, the morning of the day where I would, for the first time since I dropped out, loose a significant fight.

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**Sorry. I love cliff hangers and the such. Whatever.**

**Thanks to all you who have subscribed and reviewed. You keep me going.**

**Lots of thanks to Sam, my beta, who's alpha I will always be. Love ya!!!**

**Oh yes, review too please!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! How goes it? Third chapter. Lots of answeres in this one. I personally like this chapter a lot, but the next one is much bet...**

**Whatever. Well here it goes. Enjoy this just like a food addict love chocolate cake.**

**Disclamer: See first chapter.**

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When I woke up the next morning I was crying. The damp spot on my pillow showed that I had been bawling for a long time. I got up and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. Ugh, my face was completely red and my eyes were puffy. I turned on the cold water and splashed it all over my face. It made my features a little more flushed for a while longer, but it eventually went back to the normal pale color it usually was.

I occasionally missed the Academy; life was so much easier there sometimes. But, my life would ever be normal or easy. I was cursed, and somewhat blessed. Some people would kill for originality and adventure, but I had both things in a high degree. A weaker person may not have had the ability to deal with the things I had to balance. Spiteful ghosts, evil, undead vampires, having to kill the person you love, just to name the glaringly obvious ones. God, I had way too much on my plate.

Later I explored Spokane looking for the home I was held hostage in. I figured I could start my hunt there. After spending most of the day searching I still couldn't find it, mainly because I had been in shock the last time I been there. Finally, after dragging it out a while, I called it an evening. Then I resorted to looking in old, ratty, ghetto neighborhoods for Strigoi or hints to their whereabouts. It was boring tedious work, but in about my eleventh building my stomach started to tingle and churn, ominously.

Why couldn't I just find hints? That would have been so much better. But, no! I had to find the people who want me dead. Gee, life could be fairer. But when the Strigoi turned the corner I started. How could this be happening? He shouldn't be here. He needed to die. I wanted to kill him much more than any other Strigoi out there.

It was the blonde vamp from the Academy attack. The one I presumed changed Dimitri. I had to kill him. It had to happen. Anger built up in me until it just about reached its breaking point. But he didn't give me time to break and attack him because he pounced at me, probably hoping to surprise me, but I now, somewhat tragically, as if I need another reminder, fought and acted too much like Dimitri used to and I was hard to catch off guard. I managed to block the attack without stumbling under the pure force and he stumbled to my right, falling into a trash can.

The container tipped over and spilled all over the place. The smell hit me full on, and boy was it rank. I almost started gagging, but realized I had to keep on eye on Blondie, who was liable to strike any moment. A slow grin spread across his face as my eyes started to water madly. Barely managing to keep my vision semi-clear, I focused on him. He started to circle me, trying to get me into a corner. He continually sprung, muscles rippling, at me and I kept blocking. I was always on the defensive. He didn't give me a chance to get on the offensive.

We continued our deadly dance for what seemed like half an hour. But finally he got through and slammed me against the wall, holding me there with his entire body.

"Dimitri will be very, very delighted to see you, babe," he growled before smashing my head against the bricks, knocking me out.

While out cold I dreamed of Dimitri again. I felt the urge to run at him again, but held myself back, wanting answers. "Dimitri? How'd you get here?" I said the words tentatively, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

He looked at me sadly for a moment then answered in his breathtaking, lightly accented voice, "I'm dead, half-way into becoming part of the Spirit world, lost, missing. I can't get through because my body isn't dead. It's still living and walking. My body needs to be killed for me to be, truly, at rest."

I gasped. He now had this connection because he was dead, an almost half-spirit. Connected to both worlds by a thing as simple as the state his dampir body was in. "But, why are you here, what do you want? This is much more confrontational, and easier to understand than Mason. And I like it a hell of a lot more." To prove my point I walked over and ran my fingers down his chest.

He caught my hand and held it looking into my eyes. "Roza, I need you to kill me. I need to die. It the only way I can be at rest. _Please!_" His eyes pleaded and his hand tightened. "I want to leave this place. I practically float about the great divide, some would call it purgatory, doing nothing but watching. Floating, watching both this world and the next, seeing the amazing other side, then seeing you, dead inside, almost as dead as me. Can you understand why I call it purgatory?" His eyes board into mine and I couldn't look away. It killed me to see him in so much pain.

"I'll try. But, I have one question: do you want to not see me until I die? Leave me for what would seem like forever. Not being able to help me. Not even through dreams like this. I would probably, like shadow-kissed Anna, commit suicide just to see you. Would you really wish that upon me?" I knew I was playing dirty, but I couldn't stand to not see him.

"You wouldn't. You're too strong. I won't let you!" We stood there for a few seconds as I let the stupidity of that sentence set in. We just stared until he let out a little sound that sounded of surprise.

I felt a need to reassure him so I leaned up to kiss him. But the dream ended right before our lips me, and I fell into a pool of inky darkness.

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**Thanks for reading. There was a lot of answers and a big ol' cliff hanger. Love it? I do. The next one it so good. Reviews make me get things out faster! And if that wasn't to obvious I'm aking you to please, please, please, review if you want more chapters. Expecially the next one...**

**Well, thanks again Sam. Also, thanks to soulstealer247 and EVWTforever for willingly applying to be my betas. You make me a happy author! And I now don't feel quite so awkward and shy!**

**Well, on that note, yours now and until I get a life,  
****Lora Cullenson.**


	4. Chapter 4

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Hey! Thanks for reading. I really appreciate it. Hope you love the fourth chapter. I do. But I'm bizarre, soooo, I don't know. It is a little cruel. But what are you reading this for? Get on with the chapter! I just like to ramble.

**Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters, they are Richelle's. Except maybe Skylar. I made his personality and name. But the concept was Richelle's so, I don't know.**

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I woke up with my head spinning, forgetting Dimitri's fate for a few fleeting seconds. I couldn't get past the dizziness and the pain that coursed through my head, adding to the already horrendous headache. Why'd I have to be a guardian? It did murder to your nerves, both mental and physical. I groaned, not thinking about how it would alert the Strigoi to my being awake. My throat was a little sore, like I had had the wind knocked out of me. Tensing my arms, I feel my lower left arm practically explode in pain. Shoot, I had a vague impression it may be broken. I tried to pull my arm out from behind me but my hands were bound together it rope and duct tape. Over kill, I thought, but, then again, they might not know what a strong dhampir was capable of.

I rolled into a sort of sitting position, which was hard because my legs were bound as well in the same fashion. Propping myself up with my good arm, letting my left just kind of dangle, I took in my surroundings. I was in a plain room with only one boring, white door; a room with absolutely no stimulation. Agitation flicked around in my head. Did they have to torture me this way? It was worse than pain.

In the middle of switching into my full whining mood, the door swung open, making me start. But when the Strigoi walked in, I almost had the breath knocked out of me. It was the blonde Strigoi and Dimitri. Only… it wasn't Dimitri, and it wasn't the Dimitri from my dream. I could see the ring of red in his eyes and he was pale, missing his wonderful completion that I had seen only the last time I slept. Seeing him as a shell killed me a little more. But Dimitri had already killed me so much inside I barely noticed it. I was about as much of a shell as he was, but he was still somewhere at least. He circled me and leaned down behind me ignoring my jerky attempts to turn around and look at him. But all he did was detach the binds from my wrists. I snarled when our skin touched. He ignored me.

Once my hands were free I pulled my left arm to my chest, keeping it away from anything that might hurt it. With my other hand I took the bindings off my ankles. It was hard work with one hand, and the knots were tied pretty well, but I managed it. Once finished, I glared at the pair and they just stared right back at me, silent laughter in they're red eyes. Eventually I figured that defiance wasn't getting me anywhere so I looked down at my arm.

It had a huge, vertical gash up and down my arm. I gaped, both at the amazing size of the cut and the fact that I didn't even tell the difference between broken bone pain and flesh wound pain. It didn't throb like a damaged bone, but it stung, like any good cut did. I glared at the Strigoi. They had cut me, bound me, caged me, and made me sick to my stomach. Geez, I hated them so much more than the dang royal Moroi at St. Vlad's. Strigoi beat the crap out of them.

Dimitri was eyeing me boldly. I shrunk under his glare. He spoke first. "You are still inexperienced and weak. Why'd you come after us?" He sounded like the old Dimitri a little bit, with the Zen life lessons and all, but his voice had no emotion in it, like he was trying to get me to trust him but didn't quite know how.

I tipped my head up, shook the hair he used to love so much from my eyes and answered, "To release you from your torment. You told me yourself you'd rather die than _awaken_" I filled the last word with as much anger and sarcasm as I could manage, then added, thinking about last night, "And you _need_ to!"

That made Dimitri kneel down and get in my face. Boy, he was still a babe as a Strigoi. "Awakening isn't so bad. You might even like it. You're high most of the time you spend changing, and when you awaken you see life in a whole new perspective." That reminded me to much of Isaiah's comment about my being a blood whore in the making. This was so not Dimitri anymore. I had no clue what had taken over him, but it wasn't pretty at all. I only knew that he was stuck in the world in-between.

Tear went rushing into my eyes but at the very least they didn't cascade over. I cold tell that Dimitri knew he hurt me, but instead of remorse, he smiled. It was a twisted mockery of his old breath-taking one. I spat in his face, angry at his stoic hardness and cruelty. He didn't really acknowledge my reaction, but he stood up and wiped the saliva off his face.

Blondie gave Dimitri a look and Dimitri stepped back submissively. I hated to see him so obedient. It practically made me forget the old Dimitri who would not heed orders if needed. I was staring at Dimitri when Blondie came and sat down by me, tossing an arm over my shoulder. I shuddered at the contact, but let it stay, knowing that he would just put it back more forcibly.

"I don't believe we've been introduced more formally," He started cordially. "My name is Skylar, and you're name is Rosemarie, I presume?"

Ugh, he was going to call me by my full name. I hated being called by my full name. Rose was so much less of mouthful, and I only tolerated it by my mother, because she gave it to me, and I usually slapped anyone else who used it. But I figured I shouldn't slap him as he would probably slap back harder. "Yes," I said stiffly.

He, of course, laughed and asked, "Or would you prefer Roza? I've been told that one gets a nice reaction out of you." His cackling laugh resumed and I felt like I might implode.

"No! Rosemarie is more then fine, thank you." The words came out awkwardly. I didn't want to talk about my failing love life with a Strigoi. I didn't even ever talk to Lissa about it.

"So, Rosemarie, how do you plan to get yourself out of this pickle?" He sounded about sixty using the language he did.

"Well first I'm going to knock some proper language into you then kill you both and finally have a well deserved break and graduate high school like the normal people do." As I said that I realized how entirely calm I sounded, totally different than how I felt when I talked to Dimitri. Like I was bantering with some dumb Royal Moroi at school. I realized that was how Dimitri used to feel when he used to talk to me and then someone else. Completely calm around others, but for me he – lost control? Maybe he didn't want to stay in control. Or maybe he felt more comfortable around me because we understood each other.

Skylar laughed effortlessly. "Ha, you amuse me. I might just have to change you. It may be interesting." I grimaced as he said interesting. It shouldn't be called that. "Dimitri was immediately so totally submissive. He wasn't a challenge at all. But you, you have fight inside. A ton of it. I admire that."

He was about five seconds away from getting nailed in the face by my good arm. I had no time to think up any good comment so I said defiantly, and rather unoriginally, "I would rather die than join you." Yep, it sounded quite lame coming out in real life. But maybe that's because I wasn't some hot, famous action star that always ended up on top. I was just Rosemarie Hathaway, high school drop-out and killer.

He looked at me and smiled demonically. Then he grabbed my hair and pulled me to the ground. I tried to get him off me as he yanked himself on top of me. "Well, I'm afraid you won't have much of a choice." A shudder rippled through me as he leaned down and put his mouth to my neck…

"No," A voice demanded from behind Skylar. "Let's watch her for a while. I'm not sure she would be a very good Strigoi." Thank you, Dimitri, for not trusting me enough to join him. I might have gotten off easy today.

"Whatever you say. I'll leave her here for you." Skylar started to turn towards the door, but then he stopped. "Oh, Dimitri, you have two days to make your decision or I'll make it for you." Then he walked out. Dimitri was quick to follow, but not before he looked at me almost angrily.

I didn't think about his reaction to me. I just started making a plan to escape. _With_ Dimitri…

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**Yay! Another cliff hanger. Not so big as the others. Also, I'm sorry if this chapter was a little awkward. I added the dream scene after I did this, so, yeah. I tried to work it out but I was tired and may have missed a few spots. Please realize I'm human and only fourteen. Us teenagers make mistakes!**

**Thanks to Sam and Elizabeth. You brighten my day by putting up with my weirdness and reviewing. Three cheers for the Betas.**

**Read and review please!  
Lora Cullenson**


	5. Chapter 5

**This one was written on a lot of caffeine, Metallica and Paul McCartney. Don't ask. Finally, at like, 11 I finished it. Hope you like it. I have plans for my dear story.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Richelle Mead. Don't give me credit for the characters.**

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For the next few days I fell in and out of sleep randomly. While I was coherent enough, I would plan. It wasn't too easy, as I was trapped in the room without any way out. I had an okay, but extremely simple plan – run right thorough the Strigoi, possibly humans, and find my stake and other assortments of gear, then run up until I get out. Grabbing Dimitri on the way, of course.

On the lighter side of things, I wasn't bound anymore and I could function fine, with the exception of my left arm. It still stung really badly and I hated to really use it, mainly because I was afraid to tear the plump scab open. I heard faint footsteps outside the room and I tensed, feeling the new skin pulling taut. But they passed by quickly, with only a quick break. Maybe because he stopped to talk to someone. Huh, there might be guards outside the door. After I became more conscious and could think clearly, they must have been stationed there.

I lay down and tried to fall asleep, but that proved hard, as I had so many thoughts and plans spinning in my head. I battled against the thoughts and my headache and gave an honest effort to pass out. But I couldn't, and I spent an hour ignoring everything and trying to knock my self out. Then I spent time mulling over my plans and such, digging relentlessly through my brain. But one thing I found absolutely startled me: an opening in my brain, like the one with Lissa, but new, and to a different place. I tried to plunge into it, but it wasn't as easy as falling into Lissa's, as I went into Lissa's all the time, but I managed to get a hold of the new place

Around three or four hours later I heard the door open and covered my eyes angrily, trying to block whoever it was out. I heard foot falls, then a body plopped down beside me.

"So," Dimitri's voice began. "What do you want to do? You going to kill me? Run away? Give in?" He was so nonchalant and uncaring. I hated it.

I remained silent for a while. The silence was comfortable, and I didn't care what he wanted to do. I just stayed still until Dimitri fell a little off balance. It may take a while, but I would knock him out. "Do you truly think you could take me? Me, a superhuman whom you have a weakness for? You, a hurt, young body guard? Do you really want to do your job that well? To the extent that it would kill you? Moroi don't matter at all. Strigoi are the future of our world, don't fight it." I stayed perfectly still, looking like I wasn't paying attention.

He shrugged, stood, and opened the door. As he was walking out, I jumped onto my feet and quickly threw his arm with all the force I could muster into his head. He crumpled like a bag of rocks. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the cell, desperately wondering what I was to do next. Looking at him I thought flippantly about when he might be awake, hoping it might not be for a while.

Laying back across the wall, I planned; coming up with a plan to get us out of here, wherever here was, and to the Academy. But I couldn't take him to the Academy, or any other place where Moroi or dhampir were dominant. No, I had to find out how to deal with him without my past allies help. I had to save Dimitri myself. A logical part of me begged for me to just kill him and get it over with. Dimitri would be happy, there would be one less Strigoi, Lissa would get a kick out of me coming back, Adrian could pursue me without any outside interference, and Christian would have a perky, enthusiastic girlfriend again. But even with all the things that would make killing Dimitri a great idea, I just couldn't do it. I still loved him. And that was a big problem. After thinking about it, I grabbed his leg and pulled him out of the room. If I encountered anymore Strigoi on the way, I would mess them up like I had Dimitri, but leave them.

Once I got out the room I found myself in the basement of a townhouse. It wasn't Isaiah's house, but it was probably in overcrowded, cookie cutter neighborhood. As I climbed the stairs out of the cellar gone prison, I urgently hoped it was night time or else I had no idea what I would do to hide or fight. They had taken my silver stake and the assortment of other weapons I had. Nothing I had could really be of any use against Strigoi. But against the humans I had brute strength, and that was more than enough.

Dimitri thudded loudly as I pulled him up the stairs, as I didn't have enough energy to carry him. But no one came out. Either they were asleep or out hunting. I hoped for them to be out killing, as much as I dreaded the idea, but that way it proved that it was night and I would most likely hear them come in, which was a great advantage. As I approached the top of the top of the stairs, I didn't see any light, so I figured that it was night, but a minor part of me tried to tell me that there could be blackout curtains, typical Strigoi décor. I stepped out of the stairwell and saw pure, untamed black outside the windows. It was wonderful and I was, for the first time in a while, thankful for the black. It calmed me like it had while running on the nocturnal schedule of the Academy.

As I ran through the other rooms I found the front door and practically leaped for joy. Running back to Dimitri, I saw him on the ground groaning and flipped over dragging himself laboriously up from the ground. I quickly took my chance and silently sped over to him, hoping to catch him by surprised. But this was Dimitri and we all know what Dimitri was capable of. And this was a super fast, strong, graceful Dimitri. I could see his muscles rippling sexily as he jumped up to meet my attack. His entail attack was a stiff arm, which I blocked by sliding across the linoleum floor underneath his arm. This maneuver left me with a foot on each side of me and my back pressed on the floor. It wasn't very comfortable, but it gave me access to many awesome moves to get up. The one I chose made me pitch forward and fly five feet until I landed on my feet, in a crouch, like a stereotypical vampire.

Dimitri growled and leaped towards me, all six-and-a-half-feet of his body stretched out in a swan dive. His long pianist's fingers curled into crude claws as he reached for me. I jumped up and did a perfectly executed front-flip over him. He undershot a little and he totally missed me. But I realized now wasn't the time for gymnast's maneuvers when I saw his furious face. Rage filled every pore of it and he shook lightly, and dangerously. Any normal person's reaction would be to cringe and run, but I stood boldly and stared at him in his enraged, beautiful eyes. I had melted so many times in those eyes, but now they held nothing. None of their old, wonderful attraction. I was finally completely and totally sure this wasn't Dimitri. But I still couldn't bring myself to kill him. I knew there was some way to get him back. Acting, I started shaking; then backed up into a fireplace, a little shaky.

He grinned maliciously and dove at me, victory saturating him. When he neared me he sped up, and when he was about five feet from me I jumped up and did a complete 360, grabbing a candelabra from the mantle and his momentum kept him going towards me. At the completion of my circle I thrust my arm out and smacked Dimitri right in the side of the head. Again he fell and ceased movement, quickly unconscious.

I grabbed his leg and pulled him out of the house, convinced some friendly drivers that Dimitri was fine, just sick, then laid him in my room delicately. As I watched him sleep a plan hatched in my head. One that would save Dimitri. Possibly let him live with me forever. Defeat death and the Spirit world…

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**Hooray! I managed another cliff hanger. I'm really quite proud of myself. Do you like it? Well you should tell me in a review. I didn't get many last chapter. I was rather disappointed and discouraged. It made me think about quitting. And do we really want that. A sad Lora is never good. I tend to get violent.**

**Thanks again to Dovareach and Elizabeth. You guys make me happy. Ever time I see an e-mail I jump for joy (in my head, not literally).**

**Read and review.  
LoraCullenson.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm finally back. If you read my Author's Note you would realize I have had extreme writers block and had problems getting stuff smoothed out. I also had finals and other tests and skiing and piano and BAND!!!! I've been very busy.**

**2 little shout outs.**

**Whoever "..." is: I'm trying my hardest. Here it is. Don't nag. Nagging makes it all the more dificult to write because of the pressure and then chapters take longer. Take that "...".**

**Elizabeth: Sorry I didn't have you correct this one. I was way in a hurry. Please understand. And look you even got over a line of explenations on the story its self. That must count for something.**

**So please tell me if you think it's a little bumpy, I had problems.**

**BTW, Dimitri is a little OCC. I had to make him have stronger emotions because he's getting a little crazy floating around. You'd be that angry too. What? Angry? You have no clue what I mean? Well read ahead.**

* * *

I hadn't slept all night. Watching Dimitri was a full time job, and without anyone to help I did it all by myself. It was boring, but if you ignore the pale skin, it really looked like Dimitri. I loved it. I entertained myself by watching him, and feeling the new connection. Looking at Lissa's connection I found something out, that Lissa's opening was bigger and the bizarre new one was small, a tight squeeze. Many times I tried to force my mind through the hole, but it was far too small. Not knowing what was in there was killing me.

After about thirty-six hours of watching Dimitri and exploring my mind, I was mentally and physically exhausted. I could feel myself drifting off. I tried to fight it, but I'm only human, well, half human, and succumbed to sleep. While sleeping Dimitri visited me again, escaping his Spirit world ever so slightly.

We were in _the _cabin: Tasha's cabin. The one place I'd tied so hard to forget. I just couldn't stand the blissful happiness and bright outlook of the memories here. Not knowing I'd loose my love forever. If I'd known what would've happened later I wouldn't have led the strike against the Strigoi. Dimitri was worth so much more than Eddie. Eddie wasn't my life, Dimitri was. And here he stood, looking at me neutrally, but edged with a slight amount of anger and disappointment.

I took a step towards him and he stepped back, towards the fireplace. I stopped, realizing that he wanted to talk. "Yes?" I asked, curious as to what made him this distant.

He looked at me severely. "Do you really have to ask? I thought our last conversation would have made that clear." His voice was harsh and empty of its usual love.

I shrunk down, he was starting to scare me. "What did I do? I just want to make you happy."

"Happy! What have I told you to do lately? Hmm?" His face fell into mask of mocking thought. He was so angry and hard it horrified me. I'd never seen him this infuriated. "I've only asked one thing of you. What could that be? Huh, Rose?" The sarcasm in his voice was practically tangible it was so thick.

I didn't answer because the intimidation was flowing through me and freezing me for one of the first times in my life. Towering over me, Dimitri glared with rage-filled eyes; beautiful lips scowling down at me as I cringed. He questioned me again, but his expression softened for a moment as he saw how terrified and miserable I was, but then grew cruel again. After they grew severe once more a cascade of tears I hadn't realized had built up escaped my eyes and I turned away and flung myself into the soft quilted fabric of the bed, eager to hide my weakness.

I heard a slight, low gasp behind me and felt the mattress sink down under his weight. "Kill me. Why haven't you killed me? I want to die and I only trust you to do it. And now, thanks to you, my body isn't going to wake up. Now it's not knocked out because of your candelabra swinging abilities. It's knocked out because of the lack of blood. No energy makes anyone weak and an easy target." He leaned down to my level. "Please kill me."

Instead of taking on the intense pain of answering I leaned over and met his remarkably softened lips. He pulled me to him and ripped off dream replicas of what I'd been wearing the day of the Strigoi attack. We relived the nicer part of that day and when it was finished Dimitri and the cabin disappeared. But I didn't wake up. I just fell into another dream. This time it was with Adrian. I hadn't been near him for a while and it was slightly awkward.

He walked up to me and exclaimed, "Little dhampir! How nice to see you. Wasn't expecting to see you here anytime soon, hun. Nappy Land has been kind of desolate without you."

"You idiot, you've been too drunk to get into 'Nappy Land' with me. And you arranged to get us here. I can't fling myself into other people's dreams to stalk them at my will. They come and stalk me."

He frowned. "I've been trying to contact you for over an hour, you didn't answer. I'd bet you were dreaming with someone else. Was it Lissa? I was hoping you could get her out of the angry rut she's been in. I can't think of anyone else who could dream with you. Or anyone other spirit users for that matter." As he rambled I grew more and more furiously red. But he didn't seem to notice that I was completely mortified of where I was dreaming.

"Well, maybe I wasn't asleep." I had no witty retort. If I didn't defend myself there was an off chance of Adrian guessing who I was with.

"No, I can tell when you're awake. This was something different—" His voice trailed off like a cowboy into the sunset. All I did was stiffen into a Rose-shaped block of wood.

"Or, I can finally successfully block the crazy-stalker-dreams-from-hell!" I felt a smile creep across my blushing face.

He took a step closer. "I wish you wouldn't act like I was your own personal demon. All I want to do is make you happy." I froze as he took a few more steps towards me. As he did this I backpedaled running into the wall of the plain whiter room we were in.

He pursued me until I was cornered. Then he took the remaining few step to close the gap between up. I felt his torso lightly pressing against my breasts. No electricity shocked through me like touches did with Dimitri. In fact, I didn't feel anything that turned me on, only insanely acute, horrific discomfort. **(A/N Does it sound like I barfed up a dictionary. I came up with all those words. On my own.) **I squirmed, trying to get out. But Adrian blocked all exits. He leaned down and pressed his smooth, rich boy lips to mine. Instead of freezing I did what all well trained girls did in this position. I leaned my face away from his and punched him right in the kisser.

Staggering back, Adrian lost focus and dropped the dream. I awoke right away and tumbled out of the chain I'd been lounging on while watching Dimitri. He was still the same, knocked out because of weakness. So I went on with my old hobby, attacking the little opening. Then I noticed something. The portal was a bit bigger, almost like sleep had opened it. Or maybe Dimitri had…

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**Like it? Hate Dimitri for a small part of the chapter. He was being mean. But it all ended up good. Very, very non-descriptivelygood. What? You want description? Well, I'm an very unexperianced 14-year-old. There, that's why. Go read the flipping M rated stuff if that's what you like.**

**Thanks again to my betas. Sam the betafish who eats cookies and Elizabeth, to whom I'm very sorry.**

**Lora**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, I'm back. I've been really sick and all I've done is sleep, watch TV, and eat. So, pretty much I have a sore throat, the runs (lawl), a killer headache, and I can barley talk. I even had to skip skiing this weekend. But, yeah, I finished this chapter. It's a little short, but I know you fans won't mind.**

**In response to the reviews I got:**

**lilacsarepurple: Thanks! You're one of the people I can count on to review every chapter! It really keeps me going and I love getting the e-mails! They make me happy!**

**EVWTforever (or Elizabeth): I mind, and I did it again. But I had my other Beta review this one. I keep giving you these breaks. BAHHHH!**

**Alice: Yep, here you go. I got the next chapter for you. Thanks for the review!**

**ddddd: I wrote as fast as I could! Thanks for the review. And, no, I don't live in Miami. I live in Oregon. The exact oppisite of Miami. =P**

**shannonannon: I'm glad you enjoyed it! When I first made this story I was afraid that no one would read it! I got proved way wrong.**

**3: Well, now you won't be bored anymore! Hope you love it!**

**Lylli belikov: I wrote!!!!!**

**Be happy reviewers! And maybe next time I'll get more reviews (hint hint *wink*)**

**Rose: "Aren't you forgetting something."**

**Me: "Uhh, no?"**

**Rose: "Ahh, but you are." *grins creepily***

**Me: "What am I forgetting? Tell me an I will save Dimitri."**

**Rose: "Who does this story belong to?" *cracks fingers and neck***

**Me: "Mead, Richelle Mead! I own nothing!"**

**Rose: "Good author. Now go save Dimitri!" *points epically at the horizon***

**That was long.**

* * *

All in all I'd had pretty bi-polar day. First I sat watching an unconscious person, then I got yelled at by Dimitri, best of all after that I got it on with Dimitri, and, as a low point, Adrian took the disturbing stalker dreams to a whole new level and sexually assaulted me. I totally missed my sense of semi-stability normality brings.

Alas, after last night I spent a ton of time drinking energy drinks to keep away from Adrian and attacked Dimitri/sleep induced hole. I'm proud to announce that I'm now able to force myself (mental) legs first halfway into it. When my mental legs were in it they felt completely weightless, like they were floating. It was a little awesome and eerie.

Not sure if I liked it I'd taken a break and tried to figure out the Dimitri conundrum. What to do about him? I could kill him like he'd asked, but that'd kill me. Maybe I could let him go, but, no, that wouldn't work ether. He was permanently knocked out form lack of blood. If I didn't get blood into him he'd be fine, as Strigoi couldn't die that easily. The only feasible option I could see at the moment was leave him be.

After my little resolve session I bruised myself mentally and forced myself all the way into the new brain connection. Once I got through I looked like myself and was in my body, but I floated in the air like there was no gravity. I could propel myself through the air by blowing or pulling myself or swimming in the air. Swinging my arms, I did a little pirouette through the air to survey the room. Strigoi Dimitri lay right where I left him and dhampir, gravity-affected me sat there blankly with a blank expression I assumed I only got when in Lissa.

As I finished my circle I noticed someone else in the room. I spun back quickly to look at whoever it was. Of course it turned out to be the person I least expected: Dimitri. He just sat in a chair watching me with the corners of is mouth turned up slightly. I tried to fly into Dimitri but I still hadn't got a hang on no gravity and preformed a slow-motion, protruding, slightly flailing leap towards him. He caught me in his warm, long, powerful arms and I melted into him. I looked at him and his slight smile turned into a full on grin. In response I started beaming at him, love saturating every pore of my body and face. He reached up from my back and started playing with my hair. I could tell he still loved it like an alcoholic loves aged brandy **(A/N no offense to the alcoholics out there)**.

"How'd you get here, Roza?" Dimitri asked. "You're not Strigoi and you wouldn't have been able to get to this far into the Half World in the time you would've been a Strigoi, judging by the time I last saw you. You get muffled by death and it takes you days to release yourself from emptiness. It's real confusing, but the main gist of it is when you become Strigoi you get pressed into this floating state where you are basically completely happy, but it feels wrong. If you're strong enough you can break out of it and get stuck in the Half World we're in until your body dies or—well—nothing else. Your body has to die." He frowned just as I did.

I responded, "I really don't know. I found this connection, like the one with Lissa, in my brain. I followed it after a few dreams with you and here's where I ended up." I shrugged. "Is that what I looks like when I'm with Lissa?"

He seemed surprised that I'd ask that question. "Hmm, pretty much. You just look like you're spacing out."

I sat in his lap, still, for like half an hour, until I asked another question, "Can you feel an opening in your mind that feels like an opening to anywhere else?" I really, really wanted to know. There might be a way to save him.

He was silent for a few minutes as I waited in mental agony. Finally he answered, "Yes, I can feel it in the back of my mind. It's really bizarre." Dimitri grimaced as he said that; I grinned.

"That's great! If you can get back into your body we might be able to save you yet! It'd make everyone happy." My smile increased.

His frown lessened at my enthusiasm. I leaned up and kissed him. "Will you try?" I asked him although I was pretty sure of the answer.

"I'm more than okay with it. You'll have to help me though." He pulled me closer, reveling in the last few romantic minutes we'd have before we had to get cracking. Yep, I just used that phrase. You're jealous.

"I'm more than more than okay with that, hun. I'd love to play mentor for a while." So, for the next few hours we worked on getting Dimitri mentally through the hole.

He did well when one considered all things. Now he said he only got caught on his mental arms. But he was getting there though, very close.

Dimitri asked, "Hey, babe, can we take a break? I'm dead exhausted."

I smiled and tousled his hair. "Sure thing, comrade. It'd be my pleasure." And with that I floated over to the window to look out.

It was night now and the lamps were on, giving just the right amount of light to see well. A car pulled up in front of the hotel and, to my horror, Strigoi jumped out and started walking quickly into the hotel. I turned to Dimitri and started panicking. We both had no idea what to do.

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**Sorry if it's a little OCC. They be happy and in looove. Anyway. Read and review. Thanks you to my Betas. I shall get better and write more!**

**LoraCullenson**


	8. Chapter 8

**I've finally got it done. It's not much. And there is a little swearing, but the Strigoi are really, really mean and I couldn't avoid it. The worst is bleeped. I worked on this all night and it's almost tomorrow. This is for you dear fans. I've missed reviews a lot. Please still do even though you probably hate me. I just got so obsessed with Bleach (an anime show) and I got carried away.**

**LoraCullenson.**

**Ulquiorra (a character from Bleach as I must represent my life for the past few months) will do the honors.**

**Ulquiorra: Be quiet woman.**

**Me: Dang it, take you hands out of your pocket and tell everyone who this story belongs to!**

**Ulquiorra: ...**

**Me: Say it!!!**

**Ulquiorra: *takes one hand out of pocket and points finger at me***

**Me: Never mind!!!! *waves hands decliningly in the air* I don't own the story. I only own the Strigoi I made up. And I don't own Ulquiorra either. Kubo Tite owns him. Although I wish I did...**

**Ulquiorra: Shut up woman.**

* * *

"Shoot, shoot, shoot! What do we do? Crap!" I was panicking. Dimitri and I had absolutely no clue what to do. But he, unlike me, he wasn't freaking out.

"Calm down, you can just get back into your body and fight them," Dimitri said, thinking that was logical.

I responded, "No, that won't work. It takes me forever to get in, and I have no idea how long it will take to get out!"

"Damn it! Can't you try?" He was starting to loose self-control too.

"Well, I can try," I put emphasis on try. "It might not work and we have to be prepared for that."

"Thank you. We'll plan later if it doesn't work. Just don't think about it right now." Dimitri was pleading and I was irrationally melting to his will.

I tried, really. But I couldn't. I just kept getting stuck in the connection. I'd been on the verge of screaming when the Strigoi broke in.

They swept in at inhuman speed and grabbed Dimitri, looked at me, and started to debate whether or not to take me with.

A curly red-headed guy said, "Ohh! She looks like fun. Let's take'r!" He grinned sloppily at a short, cute brunette girl.

The last one, a really tall, commanding guy said, "Why? She's just dead weight right now. I mean, look at her." He hit me in the gut and my body just fell into the fist. He laughed, as did the rest of them. I frowned.

"Cummon! Can we _please_ take her?" The girl slapped me and I fell out of the chair sloppily. The idiots laughed again.

Leader man thought about it and the girl pouted some.

My body ended up getting thrown over red-head's shoulders. I flopped over him lifelessly and all the Strigoi laughed heartily. Dimitri had to remind me that I couldn't hurt them as I balled my hands into fist.

"Grab onto their backs, they won't feel you and they'll just drag you around," Dimitri told me. He gave me a push and I attached myself to the girl's shoulder.

We moved outside. They threw the door to the van open. One Strigoi lounged by some cages in the back. The new light brown haired guy looked at us questionably, obviously confused by me. Tall leader-man said, "Yeah, Brandy begged. You know how she gets." Light brown hair grinned.

"Totally, you handle it way better than Doug though. He melts after about one sentence. Weak-a**," he said playfully at Doug.

"You know it," Doug replied and wrapped his arms around Brandy and kissed her. They smiled while they were kissing; it would be cute if they weren't Strigoi.

"Gawd, get a room you two," new guy yelled and threw a balled up piece of paper at Doug and Brandy. They broke apart to glare at paper-thrower.

"This is our van; we can do whatever the Hell we want to." Brandy grinned at her boyfriend for his endearing remarks.

"Watch it. I could very well kill your little play thing in its sleep." Doug gulped and it seemed like the leader's word was final. Even I flinched and Dimitri wrapped his long, muscle covered arms around me.

"Shut it, Harper. We're too crucial to your plans to kill." Brandy stuck her tongue out at Harper after she finished talking.

In a very leader-y fashion Harper slapped her hard. "You ditz, I could very well kill you as soon as I please. I'd just have to find another Strigoi that'd sell her soul to me in exchange for a place in the new Strigoi ruled world. Geez, you weren't that hard to find. As the second lieutenant of our dear leader Vladamir I have unlimited right to rough you guys up if I wanted too. Captain Vlad wouldn't care. He's just as violent as I am. Too bad for you I'm not the last lieutenant in the order, number thirteen; then I'd not be allowed to kill you. He's the only one without real power." He picked Brandy up by her neck choking her. She gasped as her wind pipe was crushed. "Death comes to all those who oppose me. Remember that as you reach the gates of Hell." And with that he literally ripped her head off. She died instantaneously.

I started cursing at Harper for all the good it'd do. Dimitri tried to calm me down by telling me it was a good thing that one more Strigoi was dead. Yelling at him instead was my rational way of responding. "Come on! That guy is a power-hungry f***er. Did you see him kill her? It was a simple flick of his wrist to murder her. Only the Gods should have that much power. The ability to take life away without so much as moving his feet. He's a man with a huge god complex." I tried to punch Harper in the face but my hand automatically stopped when I got to his face.

"Roza, please, you can't hurt him until you're back in your body. Don't hurt yourself trying to kill him. We'll do that later when we're both in our bodies again." He pulled me towards the back of the van. "Let's try our hardest to get into our bodies before the vehicle reaches the end of the line."

"I'll only get back into my body once you do." I smiled, kissed him and pushed him towards his own body. "Get workin'. We haven't got all day." With one final smiled he got an intense look of concentration.

I slipped my mental body almost all the way in so that I was still in the spirit realm and could coach Dimitri, but I could still pull into my real body at any second to fight.

As I waited I watched Dimitri's face contort in focus as he tried to get back in his body. I saw a look of satisfaction cross his face right before he disappeared and his body reanimated. Pulling myself the rest of the way home I sprang to life ready to kick some major ass; this time with Dimitri right by my side.

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**It was terrible right. I'm sorry it took so long. And I'm sorry about the swearing. And the grammar and spelling. I was in a hurry to get this out so I didn't send this to my Beta (Sorry Elizabeth!!). But the little green button has been very lonly the past few months. Pay him a vist. While I get some sleep. *Yawn***


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is pretty short. But it couldn't be helped. I had where the cliff hanger was all planed out and I didn't want to deviate from that plan. Hopefully this chapter is good. And my updates are getting more and more frequent.**

**I've gotten more than 50 review!!! I can't believe it. You fans are amazing.**

**Now for Adrian!**

**Adrian: What?**

**Me: Please do the disclaimer!**

**Adrian: *looks at me* Hey there. How you doin'?**

**Me: *blushes furiously* Now is not the time for that... maybe later?**

**Adrian: Naw, I've got to find Rose then. What'd you want me to do origanally?**

**Me: Shut up. I don't own the characters Richelle does. I'd love to though... Adrian is the best!**

**Adrian: What?!**

**Me: Nothing... onward with the story!**

* * *

Even though Doug looked pretty shocked that Brandy was dead he jumped into a battle position, whacking his head on the roof of the van. Harper remained seated and quietly looked at us, a small amount of shock playing on his face and simple disbelief. He still remained seated though. The guy that was watching the van looked up at us, blinked a couple times then starting to jump at us.

"Gary, halt! We don't quite know what's going on. Belikov should be out cold still, not ready to fight us." Harper reached his hand out to grab van dude, who was apparently named Gary, while he was talking.

I grinned slightly. "Do you bastards know the main differences between a Strigoi and Moroi?"

Harper, being the leader, said, "Strigoi are made, not born. That was an idiotic question you dumb broad."

My smile grew larger. "I said differences. Plural, not singular."

Dimitri stood up as tall as he could in the van's limited space. "Moroi have souls. Strigoi don't."

"Precisely. Now, what if I got Dimitri's soul back? He'd be mostly Moroi, right?" I'd just came to that realization myself when I said that. I didn't think of it that way. Him being a good vamp would open up so many possibilities for us.

That startled the trio of Strigoi some. Then Doug started laughing. "How the fuck did you get his soul? Skylar killed that when he awakened Belikov."

I took a step towards the bad vampires but Dimitri grabbed my waist and pulled me away. "You didn't take into account that he's strong and that he might've had something to live for."

"Rose, that's not quite it. Once you're body is Strigoi you're soul is in a state where you're dying, but it's peaceful, and you just want to stay like that. But all the while you feel as if something's wrong and you want to fix it.

"Now, once you start struggling you feel like you're suffocating and want to fall back into the peacefulness. That was my initial reaction, but then I started to fight still. From there the pain got worse and I really wasn't capable of rational thought. Agony began to be the only thing I knew, and yet I struggled on. Finally I broke free."

-+--+-+--+-

_Flashback – Dimitri's POV_

_Death was a wonderful thing. It was like floating through water on a pleasant day, oblivious to everything else. You wanted to forget everything else and loose yourself in the pleasure of relaxing and living without pain or anything else. It was comforting and easy to love. This was where I belonged. But after what seemed like minutes of floating I realized something was wrong. The peace, it was like the calm before the storm. I needed to get out. Seemingly minutes ago I had been fighting the Strigoi. But now I was lost. Completely and utterly gone. And I had to get out!_

_I started fighting the calm, anxious to get out. But the power of the end was strong, and I felt like it was suffocating me. I battled the still, and it was winning. I thrashed against the overpowering weight, but it muffled my reaction time and emotions. If my emotions weren't masked I would be completely controlled by the rage, every pore of me full of it. The skirmish with the oppressive serenity seemed to take years. There was a huge difference in between the time of the calm floating and the panicky fray although they were caused by the same entity._

_Finally, I broke through the tranquil bonds holding me and I flew into the part of the world I could get into again._

_End Flashback_

-+--+-+--+-

Rose's POV

I gazed at Dimitri with a sort of amazed silence. I couldn't believe he'd gone through such an ordeal just to live. But the silence was short lived and Dimitri dove straight at Gary. Gary wasn't expecting it and his head was chopped off by a dagger Dimitri pulled out of his clothes. Less than a second after Dimitri dove I jumped towards Doug and impaled him with my silver stake.

I yanked the stake out and looked at Harper, who stood up as far as he could. Dimitri advanced at him with the dagger, but the Strigoi just grabbed Dimitri and threw him back toward where I was crouching. "Belikov, I know that I won't be able to win the fight with two great Dhampirs in my way, so I'll just do this and kill both you and me, but I'll let the woman live."

Harper pulled out a gun and shot it towards neither me nor Dimitri, but straight towards the window behind up. The back window cracked open to reveal the rising sun. Streaks of light came right into the van and showered both Harper and Dimitri with its rays.

* * *

**Yeah, I love that cliffy. It's like the hugest I've ever made. Fret over it my minions. The flash back is actually the first 2.254643 paragraphs of this story from Dimitri's point of view. Please tell me if this is any good and if I should contiue it. The review button got quite a few friends but he wants some more. Please review!**

**LoraCullenson.**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, here is chapter 10. It's a little bit of a filler, and I added some fluff. But the next few chapters I have in here are basically to answer some questions you might have about anything. And this chapter is decently long. I was so happy. And, also, to Elizabeth, I'm sorry you didn't correct this, I sent it to you and never got anything back. And I was sad. But I promised I'd get this chapter out today to a few people. So sorry. But yeah, there's a poll on my page that you guys should check out in regard to my next fanfiction. It's just about what you want my next fanfiction to be about. Or if I shouldn't write fanfictions ever again because I'm a terrible writer. I just realized I didn't put it on, but now it's on my profile!  
And a bit of advice, don't run ropes over with a lawn mower. You'll get it all tangled up and then you're screwed. Expecially if you don't have a man in the house. You're cousin can help though. Expecially if he knows how to work the car lift.**

**But, yeah, go weigh in on the poll. You don't even have to be signed in to vote on it. Because I'm nice like that.**

**And today my good friend Pearl shall do the honors.**

**Pearl: Lora doesn't own anything. Because she's dumb.**

**Me: Ehhhh? I'm right here.**

**Pearl: Yeah, and?**

**Me: I'm going to call you and wake you up before noon.**

**Pearl: Shut up.**

**Me: *Throws punch and gets in a nasty fight.***

**And that's that. Read and review.**

* * *

Harper immediately succumbed the sun and was dead in seconds, Dimitri, on the other hand, just glowed faintly because his skin was so white. I dove right at Dimitri and hugged him really tight. We both fell backwards with me laying on top on him. I gave him a passionate kiss. He kissed right back. Both of us totally forgot that we were right in front of a hotel so when we decided to break the kiss people were already starting to run towards the van, startled by the gun shot. Luckily, I saw the people coming and told Dimitri to get us out of here pronto.

Dimitri climbed over the seats and settled into the driver's seat, where, again luckily, the keys were in the ignition still. He turned the van on and we took off before anyone could see the bodies in the vehicle with us. The speed limit was followed perfectly as we pulled back onto the highway that went through Spokane. The place seemed a lot more cheery when Dimitri was alive and well.

In a half hour we'd reached the city limits and were back on our way to St. Vlad's. Another two hours passed before either of us talked again. "So, Dimitri. What're we gunna tell the rest of the Dhampirs and Moroi about you? You're not exactly a regular case." Dimitri didn't answer, but the van swerved across the lane.

I grabbed Dimitri's shoulder and looked at his eyes. They were slightly glazed over and only half open. "Dimitri," I started softly. "You need blood. Take this exit and let me give you some. You've already collapsed as a Strigoi and I don't really want you to almost die again." Dimitri's head lolled over a bit, but he still pulled off.

We followed the exit for a little ways until we were on a desolate road that went by a Christmas tree farm. I switched off the car and pulled Dimitri right into the back. Preparing myself for the bite was easy; I'd done it so many times. Applying very little pressure to Dimitri's head made him fall into me. I angled his head so it fit right in the crook of his neck. "No," he croaked out, although he must be starving.

"Dimitri, listen to me. I've done this before. I know when to make you stop, and I don't mind. You really need to live." And with that I felt his teeth slide hesitantly into my neck.

Having given blood many times before I knew what to expect; the slight tinge of pain, then utter bliss. The endorphins were soaring throughout my body and I almost forgot when to stop him. This feeding took much less time than one with Lissa, because Dimitri was able to drink more blood faster. I moved my arms that seemed to weigh nothing and reluctantly pushed Dimitri's head away. His fangs detached gently and Dimitri fell back onto Brandy's head, which was quite unexpected. Right away he jumped and hit his head on the top of the van.

I giggled a little bit as he jumped back into the front seat. "I'll just get us home. St. Vlad's isn't very far from here. You have any idea what you're going to tell them?"

"Dimitri, I already asked you that. Just how out were you from blood depravation?" His eyebrows rose a bit when I said this and then he turned the van on.

"How far exactly are we from Spokane? I don't even remember clearing the city limits. Even the fight is a bit hazy." A semi-apologetic smile formed on his handsome face as he said this.

"We've been going for about two hours. Why didn't you tell me about this, comrade?" The van gave a slight lurch as we pulled back onto the highway.

"I didn't even really know we were driving. I was, I don't know, almost passed out the entire time. Are we in Montana yet?"

"I think so. I'm a little tired from being up so late. Well, I haven't really been up so my body is wide awake and full of energy, but my brain is hella out of it." I rubbed my tangled hair a bit to prove a point.

"I understand. But back to my original question: what do we tell everyone?"

"The truth." He raised one eyebrow at me, which made me blush. "The abridged truth? I don't want them arresting you for statutory rape."

"That'd probably be the best. But you'd have to come out with your connection with Lissa and the spirit world. That might be a little troublesome but once that's over we can be together for real. Don't worry; it'll all turn out for the good. Or we'll just have to run away. At the very least Lissa will know I'm not a Strigoi. That's all we really need to be happy right now, right?"

"Aye! Now, let's get to St. Vlad. I know you're a good driver so step on it, comrade!" I pointed east.

Dimitri smiled slightly and drove on, speeding up a little.

-+--+-+--+-

TIME SKIP – THREE HOURS

We'd just driven through Missoula and I could see the hills surrounding St. Vlad. "Almost there," Dimitri mumbled to himself.

"You look a little panicked. Calm down." Dimitri blushed a little in response. "Wait, stop and look me in the eyes for a second." He turned to me. "Good, no red eyes. That'll make thing easier."

We stopped at the gate waiting for entrance. I few seconds later I heard my name faintly called. I grinned a little as I saw Lissa's tiny figure running towards the gate. "Rose! Rose!" She called out and Christian appeared behind her, running for all his tiny body was worth.

Adrian then staggered out in a wobbling jog holding a bottle of, I assumed, some sort of alcohol. The man was drunk as a skunk. I saw a few students saunter out from the cafeteria. Some of the staff walked out from the office and jumped at the sight of the van.

Lissa ran straight into the gate and tried to climb it to no avail. Without warning the gates swung open with Lissa still clinging to them. Dimitri and I stepped out of the van and waited for everyone to reach us. Of course Lissa came up and hugged me so tight I though I was going to die. Christian smiled, waved and winked slightly with his ice blue eyes. A few shocked students stood around us, for most in the group of Dhampirs being Eddie, who's mouth was gaping unattractively. I grinned a bit and Adrian burst through the crowd grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Adrian walked forward and hugged me, squishing Lissa in between us and kissed me. With Dimitri right by my side.

* * *

**That was the fluffiest thing I've ever written. But I've decided that whoever gets this question right gets a free one-shot dedicated just to them. And if more than one person gets it right you get moved onto the next round of questions, which will be on the next chapter. You choose the characters and the setting and whatever the Hell you want. It's just got to be at or under a T rating. Because that's how I roll.**

**QUESTION: What is the last word in the fourth chapter of Frostbite? We're starting out easy.**

**Well, answer the question, read and review!**

**That's all for now,**

**Lora.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ehhhh, this chapter is a little short. But oh well. It's still great, with another wonderful cliffy at the end. You can't answer the last question because there's going to be a new one. And I'm sorry if Adrian is a little OOC at the end. He's really drunk. Drunk to the max. But that doesn't matter anymore. Just read on.**

**And today, ehhhh, I'll just do the damn honors. I don't own crap. Except some of the Strigoi. Because I'm cool like that. Even though I hate them.**

* * *

I squealed and tried to push him away, but I could only get a grip on Lissa, who was still trapped between us and wriggling, not Adrian. I felt Lissa being suffocated by my chest. Needless to say, Dimitri came up behind him, grabbed his blonde hair and pulled him away. Adrian looked a little confused, so Dimitri clarified everything by punching Adrian in the face. Hard. The force behind the punch was enough to knock him flat on the ground. Although that might not be very hard to do, seeing how drunk he was. His bottle of vodka, which is what the bottle read, smashed on the pavement of the entranceway. "Don't ever do that again, unless you have her permission, you drunk bastard!" Dimitri was pissed. But beating up a royal Moroi wasn't a good idea so he kept to yelling.

"Ehhh?" drunk Adrian replied. I don't even think Adrian was going to remember this tomorrow.

Alberta pushed her way through the crowd. "Belikov? Weren't you captured?" she asked as she appeared in front of us.

"Um," I started. "Alberta, can we talk about this elsewhere? I don't want everyone knowing. I don't think Dimitri does either." Dimitri nodded in agreement.

"Alright, please come with me to the headmistress's office." We walked across the school grounds with kids following us like little puppies. Alberta noticed this and turned around. "Students, please return to your lunch! No questions!"

I asked if Lissa could come with us. Alberta shrugged. "If that's what you think is best." I then waved Lissa towards us, stopping her from walking off dejectedly.

Christian followed her, but that really didn't matter. Lissa would just tell him everything later. In all reality, it didn't matter what time he learned of it.

"Rose! You're back! I'm so happy! And Dimitri's back, too. I thought he'd be Strigoi by now." Lissa said the last part quietly, like she didn't want anyone to really hear.

"Naw," was Dimitri's short answer, then he gave Lissa a toothy smile.

Lissa gasped loudly. "Fangs! You're Strigoi! What are you even doing here? Alberta, what do we do?" I believe that Lissa was starting to panic as she clutched onto Alberta's arm.

Quietly, I sighed. I knew everyone would jump to that conclusion. "No, Lissa, you've got it all wrong! Dimitri's Moroi now! Not Strigoi!" I yelled, hoping to calm her down.

"Ehhh?" Lissa wasn't even making sense. "He…no, he can't! Stop. Impossible." Her sentences weren't even coherent now.

"Lissa, come on, we'll explain it when we get into Kirova's office. It'll all make sense then. Just come with us." I grabbed her arm and pulled, and she didn't put up any effort to stop me from bringing her with me.

Lissa almost floated behind us, moving her feet, but not much more. Christian hovered over her shoulder protectively. Who wouldn't miss the overprotective nature of him? Sadly I did. His annoying ways just made my day.

So anyway, with a lot of students gawking, we finally made it to Kirova's office. She looked surprised and stood up, presumably to yell at us. As was her custom. But, instead, she just gaped at us like an unattractive fish. Not like she was really attractive in the first place, but the mouth thing didn't really help anyone. "Belikov? Aren't you dead, captured or Strigoi?" I'll be perfectly honest, I was sick of hearing that.

"Okay, now we're able to tell the whole story. You start Rose, I don't remember that time very well," Dimitri told me.

"Alright, so, Adrian supplied me with some money to go find Dimitri. So I took off towards Siberia. When I'd killed about 28 Strigoi I left there and went to Portland where I killed around 14 more, I'm not quite sure how many I've killed." Then I continued to tell my story, leaving out some of the more, well, sexual things.

When I told them about finding out about Dimitri being Strigoi, Christian and Lissa stood up in unison and yelled, "I knew it!"

"No, no, no! That's not the end! Please just hear us out. So, before you hear this please note that the differences between Strigoi and Moroi are: 1) Strigoi are made and 2) Moroi have souls, Strigoi don't. So if we could get a Strigoi's soul back we could have a Moroi. Bear that in mind while you listen to rest of this." With that I continued my story.

Alberta, Kirova, Christian and Lissa sat dumbstruck the entire time. That was kinda interesting looking. But I knew that they realized that I had a good point and that Dimitri wasn't Strigoi anymore. "So, now what do we do?" Lissa asked after a huge pause. After that no one spoke and an awkward silence ensued.

After about a minute of that drunken ol' Adrian came bursting in and yelled, "Strigoi! There he is. Kill 'im!" A guardian came in with a sword and swung it at Dimitri with zeal.

* * *

**Yep, Adrian is drunk as a skunk. YAY! Please imagine Adrian is sluring his words, because I don't feeling like putting in that dialect. But here are the people that've made it to the second round of questioning:  
**Rosemarie17  
EVWTforever  
.Roza.4E  
Erinbirdyauthor  
Eta Carinae1

**Horay for them.**

**Now, this weeks question is: According to recent research, are zebras black with white stripes or white with black stripes?**

**And this has been proven. It's all over the interweb (or internet) so you should be about to find it. Good luck!**

**As always, review. Or I'll send Rose out to stake your heart.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yeah, this chapter is real short. I have writers block. It sucks. But I've decided maybe 3 fanfictions at once wasn't a good idea. This might be my last chapter before around the 12th or something like that. I'm going to Texas for a church camp. Anyones who's going to the San Antonio Higher Things should totally tell me, because I want to meet my fans. I accept annomous reviews so anyone can tell me! Yeah, it'd make me happy.**

**Disclaimer: Lora... own... nothing... but... some... Strigoi...**

**LoraCullenson.**

* * *

At that moment there were many things going through my mind. The foremost being: _Oh holy Hell!_ But that was to be expected. Any other thoughts were interrupted soon by pure instinct. My right hand dove to grab my stake. Clenching it hard in my hand, I threw it up to block the sword. I caught the katana near the hilt, but the tip of it kept swinging. Slow, I'll admit, but moving none the less. Lissa and I screamed loudly as it came to a stop about a quarter of an inch into Dimitri's cheek. A spray of blood emitted from his face right before he fell backwards.

Faster than you can say _Screw Adrian _I was down next to Dimitri. His hand was resting on the cut, stanching the blood flow. I helped apply pressure to the cut, then I turned to Adrian. "You ass hat! What was that for? You have no idea what's going on! You're too drunk to even comprehend what's going on!"

Adrian looked angrily at me. "You! You're helping the Strigoi! We must kill you too!" He dove at me.

I laughed a little at his stupidity. To dodge his tackle I simply stepped to the side, leaving Dimitri curled up on the ground. Drunken people didn't really know how to fight well. And Moroi didn't know how to fight at all. So I think I had the upper hand. Also, I think Adrian had some reservations on hitting me (but not hitting on me). I didn't mind punching the crap out of him. I'll destroy that pretty boy face!

Adrian slammed into the wall. Lissa gasped a little as he clutched his head. "Adrian, are you okay? Come on, get up, I'll take you to the nurses." She walked up to him, but his hand flew out to stop her from coming any further.

"I must deal with these abominations." Adrian stumbled to his feet and staggered towards me.

A sloppy punch was aimed towards my face. I caught his hand and threw a punch of my own right in his gut. He coughed loudly. After I smashed his head in, he passed out. He crumpled to the ground and I smiled, that was too easy.

The guardian with the sword was standing there, being belittled by Alberta. She was none too pleased that one of her comrades would go at a guest with a sword.

I looked at the sword. It was of fine make, looked like pure silver. Oh, that's why Dimitri was in so much pain. Probably it was blessed silver. **(A/N I can't remember the name of the type of silver they use, just how they make it. And I'm grounded from my vampire books so I can't check it. Sorry!) **Blessed silver hurts even Moroi, but not that much. Was he still Strigoi then? What a conundrum.

With a final look at the passed out Adrian I moved back over to Dimitri, still on the ground. His breaths were coming rapidly and jaggedly. I moved my hands all over him and tried to find something to do to help. Somehow I could find anything to do. My hands were going mad with smoothing down Dimitri's clothes, trying to keep the blood off them. I was too flustered to actually realize there was blood on them already. As my hands fluttered hopelessly over him Christian was holding a hysterical Lissa. Alberta was chastising the guardian still, with Kirova adding helpful word every now and again.

Dimitri looked up at me and grinned. "It doesn't hurt too bad, I'll be okay." He gave me a thumbs up.

My hands stopped and I said, "I beat his sorry ass for you. Don't worry." I leaned down and hugged him. Who gave a crap who saw now? I was old enough and Dimitri wasn't my teacher or a Dhampir anymore.

Kirova walked over to us. "Can you prove that Belikov isn't Strigoi? If you can't we'll have to send him to a trial." She frowned as she said this, maybe she didn't want to send Dimitri away.

Dimitri spoke up, "I've drunk Hathaway's blood and, as you can see, she's not Strigoi, also my eyes aren't red." For effect I pointed to his eyes.

"I see. I'll see you later about this, but I'm sure that you're fine." With a final nod she walked away before stopping suddenly. "Hathaway, by the way, you don't have a place to stay. All your stuff was moved out when you left."

I looked at Dimitri quickly. "Will Dimitri have his room still?" She nodded. "Then I'll have a place to stay." With a smile I pulled Dimitri out of the office and towards his room.

It was a silent and quick walk. We reached the Guardian dormitory and made it up to his dorm and closed the door.

We lay down on the bed and just held each other, glad the whole Strigoi ordeal was over. This peace continued for about thirty minutes before the last person I wanted to see burst through the door.

My mom. Oh shit.

* * *

**A tad bit of swearing at the end, oh well. I'm at a good point to make a real strand of unblocked writing. Sucks for Rose and Dimitri right now.**

**And now it is time for another question for my dear competiters. There are only two left. They are:  
**Eta Carinae1  
EVWTForever

**Good for you guys! So todays question is: Where do Gila Monsters store extra food?**

**GOOD LUCK YOU TWO!!!**

**Review,**

**Lora.**


	13. Chapter 13

****

I feel as if there are several pointed objects pointed at my tummy. I sowwy that it's been over a month. First off, I was in Texas for a week, then I was white water rafting for a week without even my iPod, it killed me. Plus it's was over 90 degrees for 10 days, a Oregon record. And I went through this faze where everything was OOC and I had to fix it. There were so many revitions to this chappy you don't even know. Next I've been biking a lot. Meh. But, yeah, over all, I'm very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry. But it's out, so shoo! I like my innards arranged the way they are.

**Disclaimer:  
Me: Today Justin (An OC from Development. READ IT!!) will do le honors!  
Justin: YAY!!! *hugs me*  
Me: *hugs back* You're so great and smexy!  
Justin: Wha'?  
Me: NOTHING!!! Just get on with the disclaimer!  
Justin: Okay! Lora owns nothing except the moronic fish Strigoi that she made. She owns me too... crap...  
Me: FEAR MY POWER!!!! I'LL PWN YOU!!!!!!**

**Yep, read on, dear readers!!**

* * *

"Rosemarie Hathaway, remove yourself from that bed right now!" she screeched at me. "Belikov, what're you doing with my daughter?"

Dimitri looked at my mother sleepily. "Sleeping." Apparently he didn't know who he was talking to. Poor Dimitri was really tired.

"With my _daughter_? What's gotten into you Belikov?" She reached towards the silver stake that was on her person.

"Mom! Stop! I ca–We can explain! Just hold on a second!" I tackled her to pull the stake out of her hand and pinned her to the ground.

"Rosemarie, release me right now!" I didn't do anything. "I'm your mother and I command you to _let me go_!" She thrashed under me.

"Once you calm down, Janine," Dimitri said from the bed.

"Come on, Mom. It isn't that bad. Just calm the fuck down!"

"No! You should know better than to sleep with a man that much older than you! Actually, if we look at your past judgment, it shouldn't be a surprise." I just didn't like that woman.

"Really? Just calm down!" I was starting to repeat myself, but that woman just had to take a chill pill. Many a chill pill.

Mom got one of her arms free and punched me in the gut. In response, I pounded her in the cheek with a mean hook. "Let's talk this over, Mom. You can punish me later."

She contemplated this for a moment and then replied, "Fine." I let her up and she sat on the bed next to Dimitri, forcing me to sit on a chair and not next to Dimitri.

"So, Rosemarie, what were you doing with Belikov?" she asked me, lips pursed.

"I was sleeping. I'm not a student and he's not a teacher, it's fine."

"No, it's not. You're both Dhampirs, it's not appropriate."

Dimitri spoke up. "Actually, I'm a Moroi now."

"Belikov, that's not possible, you were born a Dhampir, all Dhampirs die that or a Strigoi. Never Moroi. It's impossible. The circumstances would have to be so bizarre for that to even work. So, please, tell me the truth." She crossed her arms under her flat chest.

"He is, Mom. When he was bit by the Strigoi, his spirit returned to this world and haunted me, kinda. Well, really all he did was visit my dreams and tell me stuff, but eventually I got his body back. So we put his spirit into his body and now he's Moroi, because—Well, I'll ask you. What's the main difference between a Moroi and a Strigoi?" I was trying to cut the explanation as short as I could. Mainly because I wanted to go to bed.

"Strigoi are made, not born." Good god I was tired of hearing that sentence.

"_No_, Strigoi don't have souls, Moroi do, so if we got a soul back in a Strigoi it'd be Moroi, right? Exactly. So, therefore, Dimitri is a Moroi. End of story. Now, can I sleep?" My eyes pleaded while I rushed through the entire explanation.

"Do you really expect me to believe that? I'll let you sleep on it and get ready to tell the truth." She stood up and started walking out of the room.

"I am telling the truth, Janine!" Why didn't she believe me? Oh, yeah, it was probably the complete randomness of it all.

"No, you're not. And don't call me Janine, I'm your mother." She turned on her heel and faced me. "Rosemarie Hathaway, if you expect me to believe that, you're even more unintelligent than I had ever thought. Truly, you need to grow up and stop expecting everybody to believe and do what you want with your easy body. Now, I must be going, I'm on my break and it's almost over. Goodbye."

The door slammed shut and I growled at it. "I hate that woman," I told Dimitri.

"Don't say that. Maybe you're not fond of her, but she's still your mother and you should love her, no matter what." Dimitri looked down at me.

"Mmm. Maybe you should make me forget about her instead of sleeping."

"Roza, really, you're just angry. We really shouldn't do this," he said as I pushed him down to lie on the bed.

"Well, I think we should." My hands massaged his hard chest.

"No. Please go to sleep." His large hands turned me around so I wasn't facing him, but pressed close to my body.

"Can I please fall asleep looking at you?"

"Fine." He turned me around so I saw his gorgeous face.

Dimitri closed his eyes and just stayed there, unmoving. This gave me a chance to think about my life now. I really could be with Dimitri forever, without there being too many objections. Lissa would love it and totally shower me with gifts to make me happy. Christian would laugh in the corner and maybe give me thumbs up. Sadly, Adrian would have to stop flirting with me and get a real girlfriend. He'd probably be really mad, too. There'd be a few bad rumors about Dimitri being a Strigoi, but nothing he couldn't handle. All in all, the prospect of the future was looking nice.

I hadn't realized my eyes were closed and when I woke up, Dimitri was looking at me. Our faces inched closer and before I knew it, they'd met. My busy lips curved upward and I pushed myself closer to him.

The rest of the night was pretty nice, but we didn't go far because we were both so tired and didn't have much energy.

What a pity.

* * *

**This story is almost over. I suspect there'll be like 3 or 4 more chapters. Not that many. But this was my first fanfiction, so I think it's pretty good. Everyone was OOC though... well, the winners from my little comp (because I'm too lazy to put in another question.) are...  
**Eta Carinae1 annnd.... EVWT Forever!  
**Congrats to them!!!!**

**Well, that's about all I have to say, weird, isn't it?**

**Oh! I changed my name!**

**Lora.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi~! How is everyone? Because I'm great. I'm sad to say this is the last chapter. There will be an epilouge and I've already started it, but I'm not sure when that'll come out. My other fanfiction, Development, is taking a lot of my time. Haha.**

**Also, Blood Promise freaking rocks. The end. Adrian is in it. Yay...**

**Anyway, the end of this chapter was written under the influence of an energy drink. Yum. I was twitchy and stuff. Energy drink Lora is bad.**

**I'VE ALMOST GOTTEN 100 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you fans... *sniff sniff* How about we make it to 100? Yeah! That'd be good for my first fanfiction. I only need 8 more as of now! PLEASE!!!!!**

**Lora.**

**Disclaimer:  
Lora: Uh, I guess... uh... Alex-nii (or brother Alex, just not in Japanese) will do the honors.**

**Alex-nii: No. I'm playing this game.**

**Lora: STOP BEING ADDICTED TO RACHET AND CLANK 2... it's scary for a man your age to sit in your sisters room playing a video game on her TV.**

**Alex-nii: Whatever.**

**Lora: SAY IT!**

**Alex-nii: Shut up.**

**Lora: For God's sake I'll murder you!**

**Alex-nii: *punches me in gut***

**Lora: *keels over* I'm telling Mom!**

**Alex-nii: Heh, fine, Lora owns nothing.**

**Lora: EXCEPT THAT VIDEO GAME! I BOUGHT IT!!**

**Alex-nii: Who cares?**

**Really, my brother has become addicted to that video game. He won't leave my room. It hurts me. I have no alone time.**

* * *

I woke up with Dimitri's arm around me and my face on his chest. My brain begged me to go back to sleep, but my body said otherwise. It was up and it demanded action. Slowly, not enjoying it at all, I peeled Dimitri's arm off of me and walked out of the room, leaving him to sleep. (I was still dressed, thank you very much.)

Figuring that everyone knew I was back, I walked down the cafeteria. Well, maybe Adrian didn't know because he'd been dead drunk yesterday and probably didn't remember anything. Silently, I slipped into the feeding area only to have a crap load of eyes looking directly at me. I self-consciously skulked over to the food bar, grabbed a doughnut and ran. Where were all my friends?

A hand descended on my shoulder and I just about shit myself and dropped my food. Turning in a defensive position, I saw who it was. Adrian. "Hey, Rose. Uh, I'm really sorry about yesterday. Let's go somewhere else to discuss it. Please."

I raised my eyebrows. "How do I know you're not going to try to kill me?" My arms rested on my waist and I stuck my hips off in one direction. Oh, the ultimate bitchy pose.

"You don't, but we all know you could take me in any situation. Plus, I'm not drunk and I know what's good for me." He stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

"You damn well better know after what happened yesterday. Fine, let's go." I pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "And if you know what's good for you, I'll let you know something else, this isn't good for you." As we walked I tossed it in the trash. "So, Adrian?" He was walking in front of me.

"Yes, darling?"

Before responding, I nailed him in the gut. "First off, I'm not your darling, and second, where're we going?"

"My room," he stated plainly.

"Wha-?!" My mouth flew into a giant gaping hole. "I'm not going to that Hell hole filled with the stench of alcohol and empty bottles of who knows what!"

"Okay, that's not nice. I recycled most of the bottles. And I have air refresher stuff. The bottles were all vodka or whiskey too. I wanted some strong stuff because I was sad. You wanna know why?" He raised his eyebrows.

I squinted my eyes. "Why yes, I know, because I felt compelled to chase the man I love instead of being sexually harassed by you every day." My mouth pursed.

"That's not nice."

"Life's not nice. Choose somewhere else to go."

"And where do you propose to go?" he asked mockingly.

"How about Dimitri's room? I'd bet he'd love to hear what you have to say." Also Adrian wouldn't try anything with Dimitri there.

"Eh, fine…" he crossed his arms over his chest and slouched onward. His mood swings were so weird and annoying.

We turned ninety degrees and started off towards the Guardian rooms. Just as we got there Dimitri was walking out wearing, not the usual Guardian black, but a faded pair of jeans and a long-sleeved deep green t-shirt. He looked nice, but that didn't stop me from snagging his arm and pulling him back in. "Adrian is going to explain some things about yesterday to us. Okay?" I smiled sweetly and kept pulling him.

"Yes, Rose."

Even up the stairs I continued pulling him. It was kind of ridiculous, but I didn't mind. With Dimitri stumbling, Adrian skulking and mumbling incoherently and me stomping down the hallway, some people looked out of the door to see what the noise was. Whenever someone decided to stare for more than a few seconds I gave them the extra evil eye. I wanted to know if Dimitri was still Strigoi or what.

We reached Dimitri's door and stopped to let Dimitri unlock it. We walked inside and Dimitri pulled me to go sit on the bed by him, leaving Adrian seat directly across from us. The hot seat.

"Okay, so about the stake, what was up with that thing?" This was the first thing I wanted to get out of the way, it'd set the course for the entire talk.

Adrian blanched. "Um, well, y'know how stakes are enhanced with fire, water, air and earth magic?" I gave him a flat look, not even bothering to dignify that with a response. "I added spirit to the mixture and that amplified it so that hurt Moroi if it cut them. Also, instead of making it a stake, I had it formed into a sword, which works better in some ways."

"So Dimitri isn't a Strigoi?"

"No. His aura isn't right for that. It's a mixture of blues and greens, quite nice, really. Yours is—" I cut him off.

"Black, right?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"Anyway, everyone but my mom believes me, it's good for now!" Dimitri squeezed my hand. I could tell pretty well that he wanted to be alone. "_Bye_, Adrian." Hopefully he'd get the hint.

"I'm not keen on getting beat up by Rose today, so I'll be leaving now. So long Dimitri, Little Dhampir." He waved lazily and walked out the door.

Dimitri turned to me. "Yeah, I'd like to do this over a nicer dinner or something of that sort, but I'm sure we're going to be questioned and monitored so we won't have much alone time for a while."

My brow furrowed. "What're you getting at?"

"Roza, once all this is over-" He got down on one knee and my chest constricted. "-Will you marry me?"

I couldn't breathe, and I sat there for a moment. My heart was racing as I sat there. A few tears welled up in my eyes, but I pushed them back. "Hell yes!" I jumped off the bed and tackled him into a hug.

* * *

**I told you energy drink me is bad. And, just because Rose would never just say yes, she said Hell yes! Yay!**

**Just so you know, the epilouge will be about the wedding!**

**Eta Carinae1 and Elizabeth have to contact me about the One-Shots, because I'll be starting school in 10 days 16 hours and 1 minute! Then it'll take longer for me to the thing out. Lora's e-mail = semorfluffykins gmail . com (minus the spaces) It's on my page too.**

**Hee! I can't wait for school!!!!!!! My only wish was to finish this fanfiction before school starts and I did it! Booyah!**

**One more thing... WHY DID THE VIKINGS HAVE TO SIGN BRETT FUCKING FAVRE!!!! wah.**

**Lora.**


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